Media misunderstands me as I’m frank, says Parrikar

Panaji, Feb 4: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Tuesday said that his habit of being transparent and frank even when speaking to strangers has often resulted in the media misquoting him.

“I have always had this one trait. I say anything to anyone. Even my personal details to strangers. But this sometime works against me now. You say something and then it is misinterpreted by the media and published,” Parrikar said, adding that very often bytes given by him to the media result in unnecessary controversy.

Parrikar in the recent past has been extremely critical of the media, a section of which he claimed indulges in paid news while several others, he said, are biased in their reportage.

Parrikar, who was speaking at Goa’s first state language convention in Panaji, also underlined the importance of being able to laugh at oneself.

Recalling an instance from his childhood, Parrikar said that when he was a boy, he would often climb up a guava or a coconut tree when his mother wanted to beat him up.

“I can laugh at myself. I recall things which have happened in the past and laugh like there were times when I used to climb up a tree when my mother ran behind me with a rolling pin or a drum-stick for a spanking,” the Goa chief minister said.